Ball projector



B.. L. BLAIR.

BALL PROJECTOR. l

APPLICATION man Immo, 1'919. RENEwED JULY 9, |921.

Patented June L3, 1922.

Af' raf/VAEX was BENJAMIN L. BLAR, GF INDIANAEOLS, NDANA.

BALL E RQJECTOBJ.

Application led January 20, 1919, Serial No. 271,972.

To all fw 710m t may Concern Be it lrnown that I, BnNJAu'iN L. Bimini, a citizen of the United States, residing at indianapolis, in the county of `Marion and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ball Projectors, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain means for controlling and directing the discharge of compressed air against the periphery of a ball for effecting its discharge from an air gun, such as is shown and described in my co-pending application for air gun, iled April 13, 1917, Serial No. 161,790.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide means by which compressed air can be discharged against a predetermined localized peripheral area and radially of the axis of a ball to cause rotational travel in the desired direction to be imparted to the ball.

A further object of the invention consists in the provision of certain means by which compressed air discharged against the periphery of a ball can be varied, as necessity therefor may dictate.

l accomplish the above objects of the invention by means of the construction illus trated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof, in which- Figure 1 is a fragmentary detail view showing the air discharge gun in side elevation with the ball chute. in section. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary detail view partly in front elevation, the remaining part of the air discharge device being broken away, on a considerably enlarged scale. Fig. 3 is a fragmentar-y detail vertical sectional view on the line 3-3 in Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawings, 10 represents a1 cylinder for confining the compressed air, and said cylinder is provided with port 11 through which the compressed air is discharged. Air passing outthrough discharge opening 11 is controlled by means of a sintable valve 12, the latter being actuated by certain mechanism described in the above mentioned co-pending application. Port 11 communicates with a collar 14 which is threaded into a hub 15 formed integrally with cylinder 10, and said collar is provided on its free eXterial surface with an annular shoulder 16. Shoulder 16 engages an annular recess 17 in the adjacent face of a revoluble air discharge head 18, and by means of a plate 50 secured to the rear Sur- Specicaton of Letters Patent.

Patented J une 13, 1922.

Renewed July D, 1921. Serial No. 483,611.

face of head 1S, by means of the screws 20, head 1S is prevented from being accidentally displaced from collar 1a. r1`hc above described connection between collar 1st and head 18 permits 'the latter to be rotated freely around the former, the object of which will be hereinafter described. The p assageway through collar 1li-communicates not only with port- 11 in cylinder 10, but also with an air discharge passageway 22 in head 18. passageway Q2 while entering at the axis of head 18 is curved so as to bring its discharge end 19 near the edge of the margin of the face of head 18, so that the air discharged from passageway 2Q will. be directed against the surface and at one side of the axis of the ball. Air discharged against the surface of a ball with passageway 22 occupying the position shown in Fig. 3 will cause rotational movement to be imparted to the ball in a direction as indicated by the arrow in said Fig. 3, so that the theoretical axis of the ball will be horizontal during its flight. As cylinder 10 and remaining mechanism of the air gun have a combined length to place the operator a considerable distance back of head 1S, l provide means by which head 1S may be easily rotated from the operatorie stand. This is accomplished by providing the annular shoulder 25 of head 18 with a plurality of annular channels i156 adapted to receive an operatirig-cord Q7. Cord 27 is passed around head 1S a number of times, and the ends of raid cord pass back to the operator. lllhen a pull is exerted on one end of cord 27 head 1S is rotated in one direction, while a pull exerted on the other end of cord 27 will rotate head 18 in the opposite direction, thereby moving the discharge end 19 of passageway 22 into the desired position relatively to the ball. The front face of head 18 is cut on a concave are corresponding to the arc of the periphery of the ball, insuring large an area of peripheral contact surface as possible between said ball and head. 1f the area of the discharge end 19 of passageway 22 -remained constant, a uniform volume of air would constantly be discharged against the surface of the ball under a given pressure. thereby imparting` av uniform velocity of travel to the ball. This is not the result desired, for the reason that when using the present device for throwing` base-balls during batting exercises the batters would soon become familiar with this uniformity of travel. of the ball and the Cil Tigri amount ot-brealr or curve it would possess, thereby enabling him to readily and successfully hat each ball thrown to him. To add uncertainty 'and doubt as to the course the ball will travel, the direction in which it will break, and its speed of travel, is accomplished by rotating head 1S about collar 14tand by reducing and increasing the volume of air discharged against the periphery ol the ball. As I have heretofore explained that by rotating the head 18 tor intermittently discharging the air at different points against the surface ot the ball lor changing the direction of its rotational movement, the increase and decrease in pressure oit the air discharged against the surface ot the bal will not only vary its axial movement but also its velocity throughout its course oit travel. rthis is effected by means ot a wedge shape plunger 30 which rides in a channel 31 within head 18. Plunger 30 is normally held out ot passageway 22 in a retracted position by means et a spring 32. lWhen it is desired to torce plunger 30 into channel 22 so as to decrease the size oit its discharge opening 19 and reduce the volume ot air discharged, said plunger' is moved iorward through the medium of an annular' ring 35 surrounding collar 11i. Collar 35 is moved forward by means ot a pair ot side arms 36 which attach to the opposite sides ot ring 85 and extend along opposite sides of cylinder 10 back to a point where they are readily accessible to the operator. lWhen plunger 30 is moved forward so as to decrease the discharge opening 19 of passageway 22 the volume ot' air discharged through said passageway is correspondingly reduced, so that the vvelocity of the ball, its rotational travel about its axis, and the distance the ball will deviate from its true course, is correspondingly reduced. By means ot the above arrangement and construction oit parts, the uncertainty oit velocity and curve in'iparted to a ball when manually thrown to deceive a batsman is mechanically imparted to a ball by the use of my invention.

` Having thus fully described my said invention, what I desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination with an air gun having an air release port, of a ball projector having revoluble movement about its longitudinal axis, said projector being provided with an air discharge passageway communieating at the longitudinal axis of the projector with the port in the air gun and having its discharge mouth located at one side of the longitudinal axis ot said projector.

2. The combination with an air gun having an air release port, of a ball projector having revoluble movement about its longitudinal axis, said projector being provided with an air discharge passageway communicating at the longitudinal axis of the projector with the port in the air gun and having its discharge mouth located at one side ot the longitudinal axis ot said projector, and means r'or rotating said projector about its longitudinal axis.

3. The combination with an air gun having an air release port, of a ball projector having revolul'ile movement about its longitudinal axis, .aid projector having an air discharge passageway communicating with the port in the air gun, said passageway tapering from its inlet end to its discharge end, and means for holding said projector in operative position.

4t. rlhe combination with an air gun having an air release port, of a ball projector having revoluble movement about its longitudinal axis, said projector being provided with an air discharge passageway communicating with the port ot the air gun, and means for decreasing the normal area of `the mouth ot said passageway at the will of the operator.

5. rllhe combination with an air gun having an air release port, of a ball projector having revoluble movement about its longitudinal axis, said projector being provided with an air discharge passageway communicating` with the port oit the air gun, means for decreasing the normal area of said passageway at the will ot the operator, and means for normally holding the preceding means tree of said passageway.

6. rllhe combination with an air gun having an air release port, of a ball projector having revoluble movement about its longitudinal axis, said projector being provided with an air discharge passageway communieating with the port oit the air gun, means for decreasing the normal area of said passageway at the will of the operator, and means for actuating said preceding means from any position into which the projector is moved throughout its axial travel.

7. The combination with an air gun having an air release port, of a ball projector having revoluble movement about its longitudinal axis, said projector being provided with an air discharge passageway communieating with the port of the air gun, a plunger tor decreasing the normal area ot the mouth of said passageway at the will of the operator, means for normally holding said plunger tree from said passageway, means tor rotating said projector about its longitudinal. axis, and means for actuating said plunger from any position into which said projector is moved throughout its axial travel.

1n witness whereof, l have hereunto set my hand and seal at New York city, New York, this 16th day of January, A. D. one thousand nine hundred and nineteen.

BENJAJ/HN L. BLAR, [Ls] 

